VGP: The Hounds of Astamon
by OneLonelyPickle
Summary: Since the end of the last story, Veemon and Gatomon are a couple now, but they still have a long way to go in figuring out exactly just what that means. Their friend Patamon is depressed and emotionally damaged by the loss of his special mon, and T.K. doesn't know what to do. As Odaiba repairs itself after Dagomon's attack, even many of our heroes are unaware that evil will return.
1. Aftermath

**VGP: The Hounds of Astamon**

Hello Digimon fans! Yes, after six years, I am finally going to continue the VGP storyline that began with "The Darkness of Dagomon" (originally titled "A Christmas Tale" for any of you who were around back then). That story was originally supposed to be continued, but I veered off and started other stories / got into other things. Now, I am not much of a writer / fanfiction / fandom guy anymore, but I always wanted to come back to this story because I liked the simplicity yet fun of it.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this sequel. I am trying to keep it all in line with what the plan was all along (since the end of the first story… as I wrote it it changed course a few times but this idea was always there since the finale).

Oh and since it is a sequel, you will want to read "VGP: The Darkness of Dagomon" first. You can find it through my profile. Have fun!

 **Chapter 1 - Aftermath**

It was Christmas Eve in Odaiba, a chilly day with light snow, and although 'tis the season, many on the manmade island off the coast of Tokyo were not so cheerful. Patamon least of all.

The petit flying pig Digimon lay motionless on his partner T.K.'s bed, watching the snowflakes fall outside the bedroom window, thinking about just a week and a half ago, when things went so horribly, horribly wrong.

 _Lalamon…_

Patamon could do nothing but repeat her name in his head. One moment she was there, and the next…

It filled him with so many emotions. Patamon had cried, he had lost his appetite, he hadn't been happy since Lalamon's death, but most of all...

Most of all he felt angry.

The bedroom door creaked open slightly. T.K. poked his head through the opening.

"Patamon… hey buddy, you want some supper? We made another one of your favorites tonight-steamed Chinese cabbage! You know, I hate the stuff, but mom and I know you love it. Anyway…"

T.K. entered the room. Patamon didn't stir.

"Patamon… come on now. I know it hurts, but you can't just lay in here forever. Nobody except me has seen you in a week!"

T.K. went over to the bed and kneeled at the side so he could scratch Patamon behind the ears. That always WAS his weak spot. Patamon turned around about halfway and gave T.K. a look he had never seen before.

"Go away T.K. I just want to be alone."

The young, blond-haired teenager got up with a start and stared at his partner with confusion. Never had Patamon talked to him that way. T.K. felt a distinct twang of pain in his heart.

"Patamon…" was all he could say before Patamon turned back around and sighed. The snow outside continued to fall, and the wind continued to howl, and Patamon continued to lay without moving. T.K. frowned, but he left the room with a sigh of his own. It wasn't time yet for his friend to stop mourning.

Indeed, as T.K. went back to the living room / kitchen area that was so prevalent in the condominiums of Tokyo, it wasn't yet time to stop mourning for many in the city. The news hadn't stopped listing the names of the deceased since Dagomon attacked.

"... that concludes the full reading of the list of all 434 people who lost their lives in the attack eleven days ago," said the voice on the screen as picture after picture of victims was shown. "We will continue the state mourning period until the start of the New Year. The Prime Minister's office issued a statement earlier this week…"

T.K. closed his eyes, bowed his head towards the TV, and said a little prayer. He had found himself doing that quite a bit in the last few days. He turned towards the kitchen, where his mother was plating supper.

"Is Patamon joining us for dinner finally?" Ms. Takaishi asked. T.K. shook his head, frowning.

Ms. Takaishi gave her son a sympathetic smile. "He'll come around, Takeru. He has suffered like so many others…"

Now she glanced at the TV, and like T.K., she bowed and said a small prayer.

"Such a tragedy…" she said solemnly. She returned to smiling for her son's sake.

"You were all so brave, and many lives were saved because of you, Takeru. You should be proud. But…"

T.K. glared at the wall. "But this isn't over yet. That was just the start of something worse, I can feel it."

T.K.'s mom's heart leapt. She could already feel tears welling up as she went over to her son and grabbed his shoulders.

"But it isn't your fight! Takaishi Takeru! Please, please don't get involved in any more of this Digimon business! Let the government deal with it! And maybe there isn't anything else to worry about! So…"

She trailed off, unable to stop sobbing. T.K. wrapped his mother into an embrace. He was just slightly taller than her now.

"Mom…"

He knew she was worried, and for good reason. But as a Digidestined, T.K. had the duty to protect everyone from the dangers he knew evil Digimon posed. The rest of his friends might not have thought much about what happened, calling it a one-off event, but he knew better. Like he said before, he could feel it. And he knew Kari could, too…

 ***At the Kamiya Residence***

"...and then I said, 'Deodorant, what's that!?'"

Tai Kamiya began to laugh at his own joke, with his partner Agumon and his friend's partner Veemon joining in. The rest of the table, his parents, his sister Kari, and her partner Gatomon, just sat in silence. Gatomon rolled her eyes, then nudged Veemon and gave him a look. He stopped laughing and cleared his throat.

"Hah... g-good one, Tai," he said, looking at his special mon, who just gave him a look that made him feeling like the dumbest Digimon in the world.

Dinner tonight was various Japanese dishes, and a small chicken in the middle of the table made in an American style. Mrs. Kamiya liked the family to celebrate Christmas in its own way; a blend of the West and the East, she'd called it. Gatomon went back to eating, as did the others, as everything quieted down for a few moments. Finally, she spoke up again.

"So! Veemon and I have helped make great progress down by the bridge! The repairs are going very well. Our Digimon strength has been an excellent asset, or so they tell us."

 _Though, I feel my own strength has been decreasing since I lost my Ring…_

Gatomon grabbed and rubbed her tail as Veemon blushed and the others praised the duo, who had been spending an awful lot of time with each other lately. Everyone there except Agumon just thought they were being extra good friends. Agumon smirked.

 _But I know better! She can't hide anything from me; we're like brother and sister now!_

Agumon then glared at Veemon. He narrowed his eyes at the blue dragon Digimon, and when their eyes met, Agumon put two claws in front of his own eyes, then motioned the claws towards Veemon. "I'm watching you," he said with his gesture. Veemon gulped. Though Agumon was only playing around.

"Yes," began Mr. Kamiya, "we've been doing a lot of working lately at the office revolving around building logistics. So much damage was done by that… thing. I mean, the loss of life was one thing, and I mean no disrespect, but it is crazy how much it is going to cost to get things back to normal!"

Mrs. Kamiya nodded. "Down at the market, all I ever hear, besides from the stories everyone has about the deceased-rest in peace-is how this is affecting everyone, even in Tokyo. The Fuji TV building was damaged in the attack as well."

Tai began to talk even as food filled his mouth, "Mya! M'it's awl I eber 'ear dowdtowd!"

Mrs. Kamiya scolded him and Kari turned to her Digimon partner.

"Gatomon, what do they say down by the bridge? Are the repairs going to take long?"

The feline Digimon folded her arms and thought for a moment. "Hmm, well, I keep hearing different things, but I believe it shouldn't take longer than another month. Veemon, have you heard anything?"

But Veemon was distracted by Agumon, who was staring right at him while violently chopping his chicken into tiny pieces. Gatomon gave Veemon a jab to his side, bringing him back to reality.

"What! Oh uhhh, yes I'll have some dessert! Extra whipped topping, please!"

Gatomon giggled and shook her head. Veemon's heart melted.

"No, silly, I asked you if you'd heard anything about when the repairs will be finished."

Veemon smiled like a goofball at Gatomon, his special mon. Gosh, what a digibeauty. He totally forgot what she had even said.

"Err, what was the question again? I got distracted… again, aha."

Gatomon rolled her eyes and punched Veemon's shoulder, biting her bottom lip lightly and blushing as she turned away. Kari watched with a smile, happy the two Digimon were getting together so well. But she felt a sadness in her heart, and her mind turned to thoughts of what had happened eleven days ago.

And she also couldn't shake the feeling that something sinister was still in the works. Many things...

 ***Outside of Tokyo, on a hill overlooking the city***

Millions of lights poured out over the horizon and a lone figure stood amidst snow-covered trees and bushes, looking at nothing in particular, but enjoying the immense light. He closed his eyes and listened to the beating of his own heart-well, his DigiCore-and dreamed of home. Home was full of light, and that's why he had began to like watching the city at night.

" **Heh, are you falling in love with this human world, Karatenmon?"**

A voice from within the forest behind him made the Digimon unsheath his twin blades and prepare for battle. He was always on edge. He had to be.

Karatenmon was bathed in light. His frame was about two heads taller than the average human, he was covered in bluish-purple feather, he wore a light set of armor, and his two sheaths, usually with the blades inside, hung on either side. A mask of sorts covered most of his face, his rather large beak remaining uncovered.

"Who's there? Speak, and show yourself!" announced Karatenmon.

The new arrival just laughed. It was a cold, piercing, high-pitched laugh. Karatenmon knew then and there who it was.

"Dracmon!" he snarled. "What do you want?"

Dracmon did not expose himself, and his voice seemed to come from all around.

" **That's no way to speak to a fellow soldier of the Seven Demon Army! Even though I suppose I should call you sir… though I just hate addressing anyone weaker than me like that!"**

Karatenmon burned a hole through the forest with his hateful stare. He continued to search around for any signs of life, but there were none. All he could see was snow falling and darkness, and all he heard when Dracmon was silent was the blow of the wind and the occasional animal in the distance.

"You're awfully full of yourself, private, and for a Rookie too… that's quite arrogant."

Another cackle from Dracmon. The tiny demon Digimon continued.

" **Let's just say I have a deserved confidence. For example, if I wanted to take over your mind right now and use you as a slave, I could. I've done it before. Rather lately, actually. It was me who summoned Dagomon here, you know."**

Karatenmon's alert did not lower one bit. He responded.

"I was not aware of that. I had figured it was Dagomon's servants, but seeing as none of them can be found now, I imagine you were responsible for taking care of them."

Karatenmon thought about BlackGatomon, who he thought just a lost and misguided Digimon. Not truly evil.

 _Poor thing didn't deserve to be deleted._

"Just what are you planning, Dracmon?"

Dracmon laughed.

" **Don't worry about it, 'sir!' All will become clear in time. Though you should know that I was not completely responsible for destroying his weak servants! One of them fell to one of the Digidestined, as a matter of fact! Anyway, for now, though, I was requested to extend an offer, from my superior, Phelesmon."**

Karatenmon said nothing and waited for the little imp to continue.

" **Ahem… 'in light of you being stranded here with no way to return home,' Phelesmon has said that 'you are cordially invited to join the ranks of the Army's greatest lieutenant.' Of course, that would bring with it a demotion to corporal, seeing as you couldn't share the same rank as your superior, but, well, I am sure you'd understand. What do you say pal? It's not like you have many choices…"**

The imposing raven Digimon sneered. He brought his swords back, as if to launch an attack.

"My answer is no, and if Phelesmon wants to disrespect me again, he can do it to my face, so I can hack him in two."

Karatenmon viciously slashed his swords in front of him. Twin violet blades shot forward and cut through the surrounding forest like butter. Bushes, leaves, trunks, snow, ice, and rocks went flying everywhere. Still the cackle of Dracmon seemed to come from everywhere around Karatenmon.

" **Fine. But don't forget, Karatenmon, that this world of theirs is going to be ours soon enough. Don't get too attached to how it is now… it will definitely change. Oh, will it ever. I can already hear the screams, hee hee hee…"**

The final laugh trailed off and seemed to dissipate with the wind. For a few more minutes Karatenmon stood vigilant and alert, before convincing himself all was safe again. He turned back toward Tokyo and sighed.

 _I suppose I will find no way home by myself. I should go and find Astamon. I heard he is preparing his attack against the humans right now._

Karatenmon stared solemnly at the city for a brief moment before launching himself into the air with a great flap of his wings. He soared into the distance, towards the last known location of the one known as Astamon...


	2. The Night Before Christmas

A shorter chapter this time! Enjoy!

 **Chapter 2 - The Night Before Christmas**

As the full moon hung high in the winter sky, Veemon sat quietly on a couch in the Kamiya residence. He was staying the night. An opening door to his right caught his attention.

Gatomon left the bathroom and plopped herself next to Veemon on the couch. The two of them were watching the night sky from the living room, through the windows. Usually they would lie together, but tonight something was different.

"It really is something else, y'know?" said Veemon, blushing slightly because the two of them were alone. Even after almost two weeks the idea that they were a couple still made him giddy.

"Y-yeah…" began Gatomon, fidgeting with her claws. "I have heard that it looks better in the countryside, because in Tokyo there are so many lights. It blocks the night sky, or something like that. But still, it looks so beautiful."

Veemon rubbed his feet together.

"Y-yeah… it reminds me of you… I guess!"

Veemon looked up at Gatomon, bright red blood rushing to his face, and smiled sheepishly. Gatomon returned the blush and looked away.

"Aha… thank you."

There was an awkward silence. Veemon noticed it and cleared his throat.

"Gatomon…" he said, looking over at the Christmas tree in the corner of the room, brightly lit with hundreds of different little bulbs. "I kind of get this feeling that I'm saying the wrong things, or that I'm being stupid when I shouldn't… like! Normally I am kind of dense, I know, but maybe I'm being like that more than usual?"

He looked back towards his special mon, but she was looking away. Gatomon was twiddling her claws so much it was making a distinct metallic sound. She raised her head to stare up at the moon, but she didn't dare turn it towards Veemon.

"It's not that, Veemon," said Gatomon, her eyes twinkling thanks to the light of the moon. Veemon felt his cheeks get hot again, though they would seldom lose the heat of blood around the feline Digimon before him. Gatomon continued, "It's just that…"

She turned her head slightly. She wanted to look at him, she truly did, but there were so many thoughts going through her head, so many emotions panged her heart, and so she just looked right past his head.

"Do you remember that night, after we defeated Dagomon?"

Veemon had to turn away now, feeling awkward that Gatomon was looking just past him. He looked down at his feet and shuffled them about.

"You mean when _you_ defeated Dagomon? That was all you, Gatomon! And yes, of course I remember."

At those words, Gatomon lightly grinded her teeth together. She had come to dislike how she was made to be the hero of the situation. Veemon continued.

"That was probably the best moment of my life, and it hasn't been that long. Davis only hatched me from that egg a little over a year ago! It was so warm, and it was just great. You were so warm… and so great…" Even Veemon felt something else grow in his mind, and he had to turn away. Now Gatomon turned away as well, and they were both looking at opposite walls in the room.

"So I was thinking…" Gatomon started, unsure how to continue. The tone in her voice made Veemon quickly turn his head back towards her. It sounded foreboding. "I was thinking about us."

That didn't sound good. Veemon tried to diffuse the situation with some humor. "I would hope so!" he began, "since we're a couple now! Two special mons! I think about us a lot, you know!"

But this wasn't a joking situation. Gatomon found the courage to turn towards Veemon, and the two locked eyes.

Red eyes latched themselves to the blue ones staring back, but the blue ones didn't seem to see much. They saw red, but they saw nothing else. Veemon could have written a poem about what he saw, but Gatomon…

She didn't stare long before tilting her head down towards the couch. A tear appeared at the corner of one eye.

"Veemon… I just don't know how I feel. But…"

Gatomon opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. The words were clear in her head, and she could play out the scene of telling Veemon a thousand times, but regardless, no sounds came out of her throat. She teared up even more.

Veemon wasn't super bright, so he couldn't tell where she was going with things. He was still staring right at her face, trying to lock onto her eyes, but she kept them aloof.

"What! But what!" he shouted, starting to get anxious. Gatomon noticed the volume of his voice and leapt off the couch.

"Keep it down, or you'll wake the others!" Gatomon hissed, not daring to face Veemon. She began to walk towards Kari's room. "I'm going to bed…"

Veemon's heart sank. He just about felt himself grow smaller. A feeling swelled in him, and he raised his voice even more in deviance.

"So what if I wake the others! What, are you ashamed that we are so close, or something?"

Veemon gritted his teeth and got off the couch too. He continued.

"You know… you haven't tried to kiss me once since that night! And… and when I've tried to kiss you…!"

Gatomon turned around. Her eyes and face were stained wet.

"YA I AVOIDED IT BECAUSE I DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW I FEEL, OKAY? DIDN'T I JUST SAY THAT?!" Gatomon cried, louder than Veemon would have ever dared.

The cat Digimon quickly ran to her partner's room, leaving a stunned, speechless Veemon standing by himself, illuminated only by the lights of a Christmas tree, jaw just about hitting the floor.

 _G-Gatomon…_ was all his mind could conjure. It was going to be a long night… for the both of them.

 ***Takaishi Residence***

"You know," began T.K., arms stretched behind his head on the pillow of his bed. Patamon laid beside him, not moving much since earlier that day, "Tomorrow is Christmas. I hope you got me a nice present."

It was past both their bedtimes, and Patamon couldn't even see anything out of the window anymore, save for the odd star, but regardless, he kept up his charade.

"Yeah. I got it for you the day Lalamon and I first went out."

Patamon's words made T.K. want to let some air out of his shirt. He adjusted his pajama top collar.

"Eheh, well, t-that's good." The young teenager wasn't quite sure how to proceed. He sighed. Minutes passed in silence.

"Patamon!" T.K. couldn't stand it. He sat himself up on one hand, facing Patamon. "I'm excited for Santa to come! I bet he'll give us lots of presents, no?"

Patamon laughed dryly. "That Santa character isn't even real."

T.K. sat up and pretended to be really upset.

"T-that's not true! It can't be! Is it?" T.K. played the foolish, unknowing child well. Patamon sighed.

"This is like… a thing… isn't it?"

T.K. shook his head, even though Patamon wasn't even looking. He tilted his head.

"What do you mean, a 'thing'? I believe in Santa! He is real, isn't he? Are you saying you don't, Patamon? But then you won't get any presents!"

The wiener-shaped, winged Digimon flipped himself around. He glared at T.K.

"Listen, T.K., there isn't such a thing as a Santa, and you've told me yourself! Remember last year?! This is just sad! I won't fall for it!"

T.K. put on the best fake "destroyed" face he could. He turned away, faux tears in his eyes and there was a tremble in his voice as he spoke.

"S-so… there is no Santa after all… what a terrible way to tell me, Patamon. And I thought we were friends…"

Patamon couldn't help but smile. Just a bit. Both corners of his mouth turned up. But very quickly he flopped himself back to his original, sappy position and sulked again.

"That's not funny, Takeru."

T.K. returned to normal and laid down beside his partner.

"So now I get the Takeru treatment? Geez, soon enough everyone will be calling me by my full name."

For a little while longer T.K. tried to gaud his friend to respond, but to no result. After a certain point he was pretty sure Patamon had just passed out, so he simply turned off the bedroom light and tried to get to sleep.

 _I'm getting through to him, I think, slowly. But there's still this problem with more evil Digimon coming._

T.K. turned to face the window now. There were a few stars here and there, but mostly he just saw black. He squinted.

 _I'll have to talk to Kari tomorrow at the Digidestined Christmas party. Maybe if we can just come up with a good explanation… if we can just put our thoughts into the proper words… maybe the others will understand._

T.K. then turned again and faced his ceiling this time. He sighed.

 _And here I was thinking we had put all this fighting and danger business behind us._

Soon after he fell asleep, swearing he could hear a pitter patter on the balcony before dozing off.


	3. Two Sides of the Coin

Sorry for the delay since chapter 2! This one is a bit longer, so that is compensation, I suppose! I will try to keep a schedule of about one chapter every day or two. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 3 - Two Sides of the Coin**

Morning light streamed into the Kamiya residence as the red-orange sunrise bathed Odaiba in its glow. Veemon stood up straight as an arrow, staring right at the Sun. He hadn't gotten too much sleep at all.

Surprisingly, he was the first one awake. Normally he'd be the second last, behind Tai, of course, but this morning he had to leave before anyone else was awake. He couldn't dare face Gatomon, even if it was Christmas morning.

"It's not like we weren't going to exchange a bunch of gifts later at the party anyway," Veemon said quietly to himself. He felt sick to his stomach though just thinking about attending. He thought perhaps he wouldn't go after all. What if Gatomon just hated him now? It really WOULD be like he had feared back when they were just friends.

 _Maybe that's all she wants to be anyway…_ Veemon frowned. But he heard some creaking down the hall and decided to book it rather than risk that sound being Gatomon coming out. He forgot his jacket on the way out.

A few minutes later, and he really felt the absence of the old jacket Davis gave him. He walked down the street absolutely shivering from head to toe, hands folded in front of him, and teeth chattering. Sunlight warmed him a bit whenever he was lucky to find it, but most of the path was shade, and under the shade it was like a freeze. Luckily the walk to his place wasn't too far.

As he saw the condo building get closer and closer, he began to notice the cold less and thought about himself and Gatomon.

 _Jeez… what a mess…_

Veemon looked at the ground as he walked, forcing the odd passerby to swerve around him as he just walked in the middle of the sidewalk.

 _I just don't get it! Aren't we each other's special mon now? So why does she act like she doesn't like me sometimes! It's like 50/50 now! And that fight wasn't good at all… maybe she'll want to break up with me… or does she even consider us a couple?_

Veemon stopped for a second and cupped his chin in his hand. "Come to think of it," he began, "I never really properly asked her to be my special mon, did I?" He made a fist with one hand and hit it against his other, open palm.

"Of course! That's it! That's why she's acting this way! I haven't asked her out yet!" Veemon shouted, and he laughed to himself. What a fool he'd been! "I've gotta talk to Davis, quick!"

Veemon at last noticed the icicle forming from one of his nostrils and remembered where he was.

"Oh yeah! It's super cold out!"

So before he got any bluer from the biting air of winter, he raced home, just about knocking over anyone unlucky enough to be in his way.

 ***Back at the Kamiya Residence***

The entire Kamiya household was awake and gathered around the Christmas tree, except for Gatomon, who was still in bed. Everyone had had breakfast and were now waiting to open presents. Veemon's absence was noted and Tai said he would call Davis' in a bit to make sure that's where Veemon was.

"Kari," Mrs. Kamiya asked her daughter, "why hasn't Gatomon come out yet? Is she not feeling well? I know you said she wasn't hungry for breakfast and wanted to sleep in a bit, but…"

Kari smiled at her mother and looked at her family waiting patiently. She got up to go check on her Digimon partner. "Give me a second, mom, everyone, I'll get her to come out."

Inside Kari's bedroom, Gatomon was under the covers, sulking. Kari came in and sat next to her and placed a hand on the lump in the covers she knew was Gatomon.

"Hey Gatomon, we're all waiting to open the presents," Kari said, smiling down at her partner lump. The lump stirred.

" _Why are boys so stupid, Kari?"_ the lump said, muffled because its face was in the covers. Kari giggled.

"We girls have been asking that question since the dawn of time, at least here on Earth. Who knows? But the good ones come around, from my experience. Come on, let's go! You should talk to Veemon tonight at the party, he isn't that bright, but I know he's got a heart of gold. He would never mean to hurt you or push things too far or fast on purpose."

The lump moved and Gatomon's head popped out of the covers. Her fur was a mess. She had a bit of moisture around her eyes and seemed unsure.

"Are… are you sure? You think so?"

Kari continued to smile, and she rustled the wild fur of her partner. "Of course I do! Why would I lie to you? You're my best friend."

Gatomon blushed lightly and finally a tiny smile crept onto her face.

"Thanks, Kari. I think you're right, I'll try to talk to Veemon later. I hope I can tell him exactly how I see everything, and how I feel. I really don't want to hurt him… but I just want to take things slow. Nothing serious."

Kari smiled back at her partner. "Ya, you know, I thought it was weird how much time you were both spending together, but after this morning when you came in crying-and with all that shouting going on-it wasn't too hard to figure out what was going on."

Gatomon jumped out of the covers and quickly began to work on grooming herself to be at least somewhat presentable without taking the usual two hours to do so. Kari got up and helped Gatomon brush herself.

"I think the two of you look good together," she told Gatomon, "and it's cute seeing two Digimon as a couple! Although, is that how you see yourselves?"

Gatomon frowned and stopped mid-lick. She was in quite the compromising position, and only Kari would ever see her in this feral sort of state.

"I'm… I'm not sure what we are. We never talked about it. But, in the early morning after we defeated Dagomon, we—"

Gatomon stopped herself and began to turn red. She went back to licking herself, but was now in hyper speed mode. Kari raised a brow.

"Gatomon? 'We' what? Hey, tell me! Now you've got me curious!"

"Can't. Talk. Licking," was the only response Kari quickly licked as many spots as she could before she sped out to the living room, Kari in tow, pouting. She'd have to find out the juicy secrets later. It was Christmas morning, and for as long as it took they'd all exchange gifts and enjoy the time together, trying not to think of any worries or stresses.

 ***Takaishi Residence***

"Merry Christmas mom!" T.K. happily cried, coming into the living room / kitchen area to find his mother humming to herself, starting on breakfast.

He gave his mother a big hug and she smiled at her son. There was a definite twinkle in his mother's eyes that T.K. rarely saw anymore.

"Merry Christmas, Takeru! You seem in a pretty good mood!" she said. He nodded.

"You too, mom! What, do you have a date tonight or something?"

At this she put a hand to her face and shook her head softly, blushing. "N-no, not really. Well, actually, your father asked if we could get coffee later, since all you kids and Digimons will be at your party. And, well, this is the third time now that we've gone on one of those coffee da-ahem, friendly chats-in the last little while."

T.K. beamed.

"That's great! So you and dad are going to get back together again!"

Mrs. Takaishi changed her outlook and gave T.K. a serious look. "Takeru… let's not get ahead of ourselves, okay?"

With that, a door was heard opening down the hall, and out came Patamon, still looking quite solemn. T.K. continued to beam.

"And that's why I'm so happy, mom! I was able to talk Patamon into coming out finally!"

Patamon looked up at the mention of his name and smiled weakly, his wings beating rather sadly. Still, Mrs. Takaishi walked up and squeezed his little cheeks and gave him a peck.

"Patamon! Good to see you! I hope you're feeling better. I missed seeing your cheerful face!"

Patamon forced a wide smile and they all laughed, though Patamon's was just for show.

After a brief breakfast the Takaishis settled in the living room and Mrs. Takaishi handed out the gifts. It was peaceful, and it was calming. Just what Patamon needed. He wore a fragile smile throughout the morning.

 _It still hurts, a lot,_ thought Patamon as he unwrapped a new, sparkly emerald scarf, _but T.K. and his mom make it pretty hard to stay sad for so long._ He looked up and found his family smiling at him, and realized he hadn't said anything about the gift yet.

"T-thank you so much!" he said cheerfully, more like himself. Still, T.K. knew things couldn't be back to normal yet, as he'd usually get lovingly tackled by his Digimon partner for something like this.

After gifts the boys helped Mrs. Takaishi with cleanup, then settled into the couch for some television as the morning slowly turned into the afternoon. A news program came up as T.K. was flipping through the channels. A newscaster spoke seriously, on scene in front of the damaged Rainbow Bridge that connected Odaiba to mainland Tokyo.

" _After almost two weeks since a monster attacked Odaiba, all of Tokyo is left wondering… will another monster strike?"_

The program then started to flash amateur images taken on that day, showing Dagomon in his assault. Patamon stood up from his lounging position on T.K. and glared at the screen. His hair stood on end. He felt such rage all of a sudden, it was a scary feeling. T.K. could feel it too.

"Patamon…" he said, trying to soothe his partner, "it's okay now, buddy. Dagomon is defeated, and…" He wanted to say that everyone was safe, but he couldn't, because he knew it wasn't true.

Aside fromT.K. and Patamon, nobody else within the Digidestined had known Carol and Lalamon when Dagomon attacked, but what mattered was that Patamon had known Lalamon well. Despite their romantic relationship being so short lived, the two had been good friends for a while, and even T.K. had had more than a few conversations with Carol.

T.K. figured that to Patamon, the loss of Lalamon would have felt like losing any one of his other long-time companions. T.K. imagined if one of the Digidestined had fallen, he tried to put himself in that theoretical situation, and it helped him to understand Patamon a bit better. T.K. brought his partner in for a hug.

"Patamon, I'm sorry," was all he said. Patamon returned the embrace. His eyes teared up.

"T.K…" Patamon choked. He found himself looking back at the TV screen as a still image of Dagomon attacking the overpass was shown. One could make out tiny specks from afar that must have been Patamon and everyone else during the fight. Patamon couldn't stop the blood-boiling feeling that began to ascend on him. A single thought started to consume his mind.

 _Dagomon… I'll never forgive you. I'll never forgive any evil Digimon._

 ***Some Distance Outside of Tokyo***

Karatenmon glided through the frigid air, seeming like nothing more than a large bird to anyone who might be looking up from the ground, if there were any such individuals at all. He was somewhat removed from any large settlement. He kept high enough up so that he couldn't be easily spotted, not knowing what might happen if the wrong humans knew of his presence, but he still was close enough to be able to spot what he was looking for.

 _She said it was around here somewhere,_ Karatenmon thought, replaying the words in his head that he had heard two weeks ago from BlackGatomon:

" _I heard a rumor, from that Dracmon freak, that Astamon has some kind of hideout outside of this human city. It's to the south-west, towards the mountain of Fuji, or something like that. He said us Digimon could see it with our eyes but that it'd be invisible to the humans, whatever that means. That Dracmon definitely creeps me out though! Not my type at all!"_

Karatenmon smiled. BlackGatomon was like a child, in many ways. They had spent some time together in the Digital World, when BlackGatomon was in training to join the Seven Demon Army and when Karatenmon worked as something of an instructor, though he spent most of his time meditating or training, not suited for the role of teacher, in his own mind. He remembered that he could see those aspects of her that reminded him of his own younger kin back home, even if nobody else could see them. She had been a friend, above all else, and Karatenmon couldn't say he had many of those.

 _Dracmon, or perhaps one of the DigiDestined,_ Karatenmon thought, as he gripped his sheathed blades tightly, _whoever it was that destroyed you, BlackGatomon, I'll make sure to tear them asunder, for your sake. It's the least I can do._

Half an hour passed, and as the winter sun already began its descent below the horizon, finally Karatenmon saw something below in a heavily wooded part of the terrain. Green wisps of smoke were rising up from underneath the trees. Karatenmon scanned the ground as far as he could see around him carefully, making sure as best as possible that no humans could see him. The coast looked clear, so he dove down and landed at the location of the odd smoke-like substance.

Once on the ground in the woods, he realized the green smoke was pixelated, which probably explained why humans couldn't see it. It was a product of the Digital World. However, wisps of smoke seemingly came out of nowhere, and there was nothing else around of note. Karatenmon looked around, keep one arm always at a blade hilt.

"Anyone here? Astamon?" he said aloud, to seemingly no one or nothing but the trees and perhaps a squirrel or other woodland critter. There was just the strange smoke. Karatenmon decided to walk towards it.

He didn't get far before his beak hit a solid, invisible wall. Karatenmon felt it and realized it was wood. A 'hmph' escaped Karatenmon. It was an invisible wooden building. He continued to feel around, and moved from side to side until he found a handle. He turned it and a door opened, revealing a mostly dark interior lit up by some sort of electronic device. Karatenmon entered the building.

Inside the building was a single open room. It wasn't very large, but it had enough space to house numerous computer-like structures, such as servers or generators. Directly ahead on an unassuming table was a flatscreen TV, currently switched off. To his left, Karatenmon found a short, hooded and cloaked creature, standing in front of the light source, which was a computer. He could see nothing underneath the hood except the end of a sickly-purple, reptilian snout. The creature was shaking slightly.

"W-who're you?! Speak!" the creature asked, his treacherous voice failing. Karatenmon spoke loud and clear in response.

"I am Karatenmon, a lieutenant in the Seven Demon Army, under the command of Barbamon. I have come to look for Astamon, a lieutenant under Beelzemon, but it appears he is not present."

The creature made a confused sound, then turned around and started to click away at the computer's keyboard at a blazing fast speed. Karatenmon raised a brow.

Suddenly the previously dark TV screen turned on. It was showing what Karatenmon guessed was live footage, showing a Dobermon sleeping peacefully on a dining room chair at the end of a large and lavish dining table. Behind him was a window and a wall with gold and red wallpaper. A voice in the background called out.

" _What is the meaning of this, 'Professor'? Something to report?"_

The creature in the room with Karatenmon replied.

"In a sense… there is a Karatenmon here to speak with Astamon. He is also in the Army."

There was a sound of acknowledgement from the TV and the voice called out again.

" _Ah! Karatenmon? Wait, let me see."_

A few moments later a Sangloupmon came into frame next to the Doberman on the chair. The Sangloupmon gasped.

" _Ah Karatenmon, sir, it is you! I'll get Lt. Astamon right away, sir! It shouldn't take long, one moment!"_

And with that, the Sangloupmon raced off. Karatenmon closed the door of the cabin behind him, and looked around at all the contraptions as he waited.

"What is all of this…" Karatenmon began. The creature spoke up, as it clicked and clacked away.

"It's all beyond you, don't worry about it. But it's all important equipment to achieve my goals."

Karatenmon walked closer to the creature. Staring at the screen he found tons of windows open at once, some on tops of others, and all of them constantly swapping places as the creature worked away. Karatenmon couldn't make heads or tails of what he was seeing, but he eventually noticed there was a picture in a frame next to the computer. Being as dark as it was in the room, Karatenmon began moving closer to discern what was in the picture, but loud shuffling noises from the TV to his right drew his attention instead. The voice of an old acquaintance rang throughout the cabin.

" _Karatenmon! Mi amigo! So joo're alive!"_

There was Karatenmon's fellow lieutenant, pushing off the now awake and clearly disturbed Doberman from its nap spot as he took a seat in the dining chair.

" _Excellent to see joo! We have oh so much to discuss..."_


	4. Astamon

I was going to try a new spacing for the chapters but has a garbage editing and uploading system so I can't figure out how to make that happen. Ah well. Sorry to anyone who hates the boring formatting. I hope another chapter is decent compensation. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 4 - Astamon**

Karatenmon looked over the comrade he had not seen in a long time. They were both recruits back then, but he would never forget the weird Digimon who always seemed to have dog Digimon around him. He was always looking dapper, in a violet, white-striped suit, with a rough, red and grey cloak on top. He wore a purple wolf's head, which covered everything but his mouth and lower jaw, a trophy of some sort. Silver-grey strands of silky hair spewed out from underneath, long and clearly taken care of. Astamon smiled wide as he sat down and crossed one leg over the other, then placed both hands palm-to-palm in front of him as he spoke.

" _My old compa_ _ñ_ _ero! I heard joo were deleted or something! I could kiss jour cheek right now! Eet's been far too long! Tell me, how'd joo make out after training, hmm? They put joo anywhere fun?"_ Astamon's voice was gruff and carried an accent, a 'spice' that Karatenmon remembered used to bug him, making some words hard to understand.

"I'd like to skip the pleasantries, Astamon. What is all of this? Some operation of yours?" asked Karatenmon.

Astamon laughed. His Doberman poked its head up and Astamon began to pet it. " _Ah, joo've always been the serious type, Karatenmon. Always, always, always. You know, eet's... just a TAD boring! Oh well, tumba eso…"_

Astamon sat himself up straight and put his hands on the table. " _Okay then, Karatenmon! I'll tell joo what's up, I'll tell joo my plan. But…"_ He thrust a finger out towards Karatenmon. " _Joo will help me after I tell eet! Jes! Joo will have no choice! Ees this fair?"_

Karatenmon looked at the hooded creature in the room with him, and it yelped after being seen staring, and returned to its work on the computer. Karatenmon looked back at Astamon, and nodded.

"I have nothing else to do, and no leads on how to get back to the Digital World. As you had heard, I was indeed almost deleted when Barbamon forced me through the barrier. So for now, let's join forces."

Astamon inhaled then clapped. " _Perfecto! Eet's gonna be like old times! Mi compa_ _ñero, as I said there ees much to discuss. Most importantly, our targets are three leetle Digimons of the DigiDestined... the most important targets, just three, jes, and one of them joo must not destroy. The others, that's okay."_

Karatenmon recalled seeing three Digimon the last time he saw BlackGatomon: a Gatomon, a Veemon, and a Patamon. They must have been some of the Digimon of the DigiDestined. Then Karatenmon came to a realization. He narrowed his eyes, and as he heard Astamon explain his plan, he balled his talons into a fist.

 _Those three… it had to have been one of them…_

 ***Motomiya Residence***

Veemon whistled as he finished his shower, getting ready for the Christmas party which was set to begin very soon. His talk with Davis earlier had really pumped him up.

" _Whoa buddy! Why do you look so… blue!"_ Veemon recalled his partner's words from this morning as he began to brush his teeth, " _Where's that jacket I gave you? Also, why are you here so early!?"_

Veemon had quickly explained the situation to Davis, and his thoughts, and got exactly the response he had desired. " _Well no duh that's what you gotta do!"_ Davis had agreed when Veemon told him his plan to ask Gatomon out formally, and with style. " _You're a Digimon of Courage, and I'm a DigiDestined of Courage! Red-hot blooded shows of love are exactly what we should be doing! I never thought about it that way before! You know what, I think I'm going to ask Kari out at the same time!"_

Veemon snickered to himself in the mirror as he remembered trying to talk Davis out of his plan, but found it pointless. Besides, Davis needed the practice; perhaps the fiftieth time getting rejected would finally teach him a lesson. So all day they had just practiced different scenarios and got themselves even more ecstatic for the party.

 _It makes so much sense!_ Veemon thought to himself as he powdered himself with one of Jun's makeup… thingies. It made him sneeze. He shook his head to get rid of some of the excess… stuff, then started to clean his ears. _Since we started going out, I had just been so touchy-feely with Gatomon, and all 'lovey dovey'! But I don't need to talk to Jun or Mrs. Motomiya to know that girls need you to be a man eventually! That means…_

Veemon's thoughts became actual words now, and he shouted as he hopped down from the bathroom counter. "RED HOT FI-AH! YEAH BABY!" He started to swing punches at the air, then quickly left the bathroom to find Davis.

"Davis?" Veemon called. Like lightning the boy sprang out of his room, fresh and ready to mingle, and responded.

"Yes Kari? My love!"

Veemon caught the drift. He grinned from ear to ear and began to play along. "Gatomon, baby! Come here!" He jumped up to Davis' chest and his partner wrapped an arm around him while the two joined hands in a manly handshake.

"This is totally going to work!" they both cried in unison.

As the two of them were leaving moments later, not too far away in Odaiba, so too were T.K. and Patamon. They were bundled up to face the rather harsh Japanese winter this year had brought, with temperatures at least a good ten degrees lower than usual. T.K. and Patamon both watched their breath come out of their mouths.

"Whoa…" they both whispered. Patamon wrapped his new, green scarf extra tight.

"T.K., you said the party is close to Gatomon and Kari's place, right?" asked the smallest of the Chosen Digimon. He perched himself nice and snug on T.K.'s shoulder. His partner rubbed his gloved hands together a bit before setting off.

"Yeah, there's a small convention center by their building, they've got a pretty nice room in there that's just the right size for all of us."

Patamon brought his wings tight against his body. "Hmm," he mumbled for a moment before continuing, "and… everymon and everyone is going to be there?"

The two passed under a streetlight. T.K. nodded. "Yup!" he said. "The whole gang! Even Mimi and Palmon are going to be there! It's not often we can all get together anymore."

Patamon frowned at the words. He wasn't sure if he was ready to face every one of his friends already, and he felt absolutely terrible as soon as he realized Carol might be there.

"And Carol?" Patamon said aloud, "Will she… be there too?"

"I invited her," T.K. said, "but she said she is going to be busy tonight."

Patamon breathed a sigh of relief, and spoke his thoughts. "That's good-wait, I mean, it's not! That's not what I meant…"

T.K. stopped walking and grabbed his partner. He brought Patamon to eye level and smiled at him reassuringly. "Patamon. Stop worrying so much. Your friends all miss you, it's Christmas night, and we're going to a party!"

Patamon looked into T.K.'s eyes, big and blue. It was always so inspiring, but there was a part of Patamon that felt so vulnerable under the gaze of his partner. He looked away, but he did force a smile. "Y-you're right, T.K."

"Of course I am! Don't forget, we're partners. I can feel what you're feeling, and you can feel what I'm feeling. And I know that's exactly what you'd say to me if I was in your shoes. Or, uh, paw glove things, I guess." Patamon legitimately giggled a bit at this. T.K. lit up.

 _Maybe T.K.'s right… maybe I should just try not to worry about anything right now. It HAS been awhile since Gatomon and I hung out, not to mention it's been even longer since I've even seen Hawkmon or Armadillomon! And everymon else, too._

A smile crept onto Patamon's face. _Maybe… ya, maybe everything's going to be okay._

 ***Astamon's Cabin***

Karatenmon stood wide-eyed, facing the hooded creature. The creature however was simply working away at his computer.

"How… how is that possible?" Karatenmon asked, "Everything that Astamon said… you can do all of that?"

Just a short while ago Astamon had cut the feed short after explaining everything to his new partner in crime, leaving a rather shocked Karatenmon pondering what he had just heard.

"That and more!" the hooded creature replied, eyes not leaving his computer screen. "I'm a genius!"

Karatenmon ran Astamon's words through his mind once again:

" _... normally, you know, the barrier between our world and the human world ees too strong-amigo, you know better than any mon! But this one, this 'Professor', he's the smartest Digimon I've ever known. He figured out a way to get Digimon above the Champion level through the barrier, and he's getting close to finalizing the program that will make our plan work flawlessly…"_

"'Professor', huh?" Karatenmon headed for the door. He found himself looking at complete darkness when he opened it. He continued to speak, "I'll keep my eyes on you. I don't trust tiny Digimon that are too smart for their own good." Images of Dracmon appeared in his head.

"Hmph!" grunted the hooded creature as he continued to click away. Karatenmon asked a question.

"You said the attacks would be ready in three days time?"

The hooded creature spat out his response, "If you leave me be so I can work in peace... maybe."

Karatenmon made a 'tch' sound before finally leaving. He closed the door behind him and sighed. _What an Army I'm a part of: there are giant monsters, little creeps, weirdos in wolf hats, and 'professors' for hire with bad attitudes. It's just too bad that 'professor' can't send me back... just for a short while._

The raven Digimon took to the skies, and found himself once again looking upon familiar lights twinkling in the distance as he rose up and up. Karatenmon felt a surge of nostalgia and longing all of a sudden. He could see all the lights of home, and all the happy, smiling faces, in his mind. One in particular stuck in his head.

 _Darcmon, will I ever see you again?_


	5. The Party

So here's an extra-long chapter that took two days. I've been excited to write this one for awhile now. I hope everyone enjoys!

 **Chapter 5 - The Party**

Two figures were running down the streets of Odaiba at record-setting paces. One, taller than the other, was well dressed for the weather, and ran with excitement . The other was running so fast partially because of his own excitement, and mostly because of his distinct lack of proper attire.

"D-Davis, I r-really h-hope y-you're right a-and K-Kari br-brought my j-jacket!" said the smaller figure. His companion reassured him, and the two could see just ahead that their destination was close. They ended up passing two of their friends.

"Hi T.K.! Bye T.K.!" cried Davis.

"Hi Patamon, bye Patamon!" cried Veemon.

To the boys they had passed at lightning speed, Davis and Veemon seemed to be blurs. The two of them crashed through the doors of the convention center, not even stopping to check if they were open yet. Luckily they were, or else both boys would be going to the hospital instead of a party.

Once inside, Veemon began to rub his frozen arms with his hands. His teeth chattered like a pair of novelty ones. He regained a bit of warmth after some time doing this, and looked up at his surroundings. He was standing in a small lobby, Davis having already went on ahead. Through the double doors in front of him, he saw a few of the Digidestined had already arrived. Armadillomon, Hawkmon, Wormmon, and Gomamon were playing a board game in the center of the larger room further inside, while Joe and Cody talked off to the side, and not far away Yolei and Ken were having their own conversation. Veemon swallowed nervously.

 _So Gatomon and Kari aren't here yet-and I was so full of adrenaline! Better go eat a whole bunch of sugar and get the buzz back!_

Veemon entered the larger room and immediately ran up to greet his Digi-Friends. It had been awhile since he had seen them all, and everyone had some things to catch up on. As they did, Veemon joined in on their board game. It was some sort of board game that incorporated cards as well.

"Shoot, ah keep drawing these dang low cards," Armadillomon lamented, with a sigh. To his left was a grinning Gomamon.

"And I keep getting gold!" Gomamon put a card down and everyone sitting around the board game caught their hearts in their throats, except Veemon, who just looked confused. Gomamon laughed. "I guess I'm just a natural at these types of things!"

Hawkmon covered his face with his wings in shame. He realized something, then turned to Veemon. "Wait a minute! Veemon, you can play your cards still! Do you have something to counter Gomamon?"

Veemon looked at his cards, scanning them briefly, then looked up at the unsure faces of his friends. He scratched the back of his head.

"Well, err, how about… these?" He threw all of his cards face up in front of him. "Go fish!" he said. Everymon looked dismal, everymon except Gomamon, who just laughed harder. He clapped his fins together. "That's a win!"

Wormmon turned to Veemon. "Veemon, that's not… how the game works."

Hawkmon and Armadillomon looked at each other, then nodded. They turned to Veemon.

"You're bad luck!" they both cried.

Veemon chuckled nervously. He jumped to his feet and said, "I, uhh, I'm going to go grab some grub!" It was the best excuse he could come up with to diffuse the situation, though he had already planned to sugar up earlier. He walked over to a table with some various sugary and salty snacks on it and looked over to see the human Digidestined all talking to each other. Davis was making a scene about something, while the others tried to get a say in. Veemon shook his head and smiled.

 _Oh Davis..._

Veemon snatched up a bunch of cupcakes and some Japanese pastries. He started to munch away when nobody was looking.

 _Don't want to be a pig, but I need the sugar!_

After some time passed and Veemon had returned to his Digimon friends, eventually more of the other Digidestineds showed up. T.K. and Patamon, of course, arrived not long after Davis and Veemon, and then there was Matt and Gabumon, who had come with Sora and Biyomon, and then Tai and Agumon with Izzy and Tentomon arrived. The place was beginning to fill up fast now.

"Agumon," Veemon asked, as the more senior Digimon of Courage was sipping on a light champagne, "w-where's Gatomon and Kari?" Veemon felt like he could run a marathon with all the energy he had built up inside. Agumon narrowed his eyes at Veemon.

"You know, I should fry you like a weiner for hurting my sister the way you did."

Veemon felt Agumon's gaze burn right through him. Veemon decided to play dead, and he collapsed on the floor like his bones just turned to mush. Tai had heard the exchange and came over.

"Don't listen to Agumon, he's just playing around. We both know you didn't mean for things to get out of hand." At this Agumon brought a finger to his lips so Veemon couldn't see, trying to signal his partner. Tai continued, "Gatomon and my sister are taking extra long getting ready with Mimi and Palmon, because guess who decided to travel here via my computer?" Tai rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "So troublesome… women."

Veemon stopped pretending and jumped up. "Ah, I see," he said, thinking of something. "Thanks Tai!" Veemon figured, then, that he'd go talk to Patamon. Everyone else had already said something to him, additional condolences or maybe just a hello. It was Veemon's turn. He saw his friend floating around by some of the other Digimon, who were watching Gabumon and Armadillomon participate in an eating contest. Agumon followed close behind Veemon and the two joined the gang.

"That's fifteen rice balls for Gabumon," Gomamon announced, looking at a rather bloated Gabumon, "and fifteen rice balls for Armadillomon!" he said, turning to Armadillomon, who he swore was starting to physically turn green. Both Digimon participants groaned as their friends cheered them on. Veemon tapped Patamon on the shoulder.

"Hey Patamon! How are ya doin'?"

Patamon turned in mid-air and saw his friend Veemon was there. They hadn't seen or heard from each other since Dagomon's attack. Patamon smiled.

"Veemon, g-good to see you. I'm okay, just hanging in there. How have things been with you?

Veemon flashed his own smile. "Good, good! I'm actually pretty excited because I get to see Gatomon tonight, I've got something important to ask her. You probably don't know this, but we've been sort of a couple since, well, you-know-when."

Patamon frowned. The comment about Veemon and Gatomon just about went over his head, his thoughts more concerned about 'you-know-when'. He realized he was drifting away to bad thoughts again, though, and started smiling again.

"Hey, congratulations! I was wondering when she would finally pick a mon and start dating."

Veemon tilted his head and raised a brow. He said, "Wait, what's that mean?"

Patamon scratched the corner of his mouth. "Oh, uhhh, it doesn't mean anything, ahahahaha."

As the two of them chatted, Gabumon and Armadillomon had scarfed down another three riceballs each. Both looked ready to explode. Patamon thought of something, then asked Veemon with exasperation, "W-wait, you're not going to ask her to marry you, are you?!"

Veemon turned a distinct tinge of red, and replied, "W-what? N-no, that's c-crazy! Haha, a-already? I'm just going to ask her, officially, to be my special mon-you know? I figured here in front of everyone would be as good a place as any. I think that'd mean a lot to her, since I'm a Digimon of Courage. I think that's what she's been waiting for."

Patamon brought a little paw up to his chin. He found himself not thinking or worrying about the events of the past two weeks, and instead was completely absorbed in the conversation.

"I'm not so sure about that, Veemon," Patamon said, a commotion at the entrance drawing a few Digidestined's attentions, "Gatomon has some issues from her past that she hasn't dealt with still. She might not want to make everything public, it'll make her feel like she has to perform a certain way, for your sake."

Before Veemon could ponder the words of his friend, most of the other Digimon and children in the convention center had turned their attentions to the entrance. Patamon and Veemon, too, began to take notice. They walked over or flew closer to get a better look.

"We're herreeeeeee!" shouted Mimi, finally having arrived. All the Digidestined children and Digimon were now watching the new arrivals. Mimi continued, "I hope we're not *too* stunning! It took us *forever* to get ready!" She twirled around, showing off her red and green, sparkly dress, while Palmon copied her with a very similar, but Palmon-sized getup.

Their friends, however, were not paying too much attention to the fashionista and her partner, but rather looked past them, at Kari and Gatomon. Veemon's jaw almost hit the floor, though Agumon scooped it up for him just in time.

Kari was wearing a pink dress, matching the color of her Crest, with a white frilly part in the front. It fit her form to a T. Her makeup was appropriate and not too intense, her lips looking plump and kissable in the light red gloss she had on. A pink bowtie kept her hair in place, which was parted to the side and finely groomed. She had already taken off her jacket, and held a smaller one in her arms. Most of the males in the room did a few triple-takes, Davis having nearly passed out. The exception was Tai, who might have clobbered the first friend of his he saw ogling his sister for too long, and T.K., in particular, took extra notice of Kari's appearance. He swallowed hard, and felt his face grow a little hotter.

 _Wow, she looks really cute tonight._

Next was Gatomon. On her account, the difference from her normal appearance wasn't that noticable for the humans, but for the Digimon it was, as they were used to seeing themselves look the same day in and day out for years. She wore her own pink bow, which kept things orderly on top of her head, with another bow on her tail where her holy ring would have normally been. Palmon had expertly applied Gatomon's makeup, so that her huge, sky-blue irises stood out like spotlights. She wore a deeper red lipstick than Kari, which again Palmon had made look perfect on her tiny, feline frame. All in all she was definitely the most beautiful Digimon any of the other Digimon had laid eyes on, and for Veemon, she was like Angewomon even moreso now than if she had Digivolved. Both Gatomon and Kari were nervously rubbing their arms, as Mimi steamed a bit to their side.

"Wow you two! You look great!" complimented Sora, who herself didn't look all that bad, but the tomboy in her was still clearly prevalent to some degree. Yolei, to her right, whined.

"Ohhh, you all look so amazing! And here I am, looking like plain Jane! Ken, tell me I'm pretty!" she turned to her friend, who just blushed and held up his hands in defense.

Veemon shook his head rather violently. It was show time, and he wasn't yet ready. He ran back to the food tables and began shoving sweets into his mouth. Gatomon noticed this of course, and felt her heart turn a bit heavy.

 _Maybe he isn't interested in talking after all,_ she thought, trying not to let her face show her disappointment as her and Kari began to integrate with the others. Everyone told them how good they looked, and asked how they'd been. Veemon, meanwhile, was trying to intake as much sugar as he possibly could. He thought as he ate.

 _Sugar equals energy, and energy equals courage, and courage equals what I need right now! Oh jeez, this is it!_

Gatomon was trying to work her way through the crowd of friends and speak to Veemon. She had steeled herself for this, and wasn't going to back down. She was going to work things out with Veemon, and there was a part of her, too, that longed to hear him compliment her current appearance. It wasn't normal for her to care so much about it, after all.

Veemon swallowed the mass of confectionery in his mouth and quickly wiped off as much excess as he could. He looked around desperately for a mirror or anything reflective, settling on a shiny vase with a fern in it that sat in a corner. He groomed himself roughly before taking a deep breath. Veemon puffed out his chest, and turned around. Gatomon had pulled through the crowd enough and could see him now.

 _Here goes!_ Veemon thought. He surprised himself; he didn't feel any heat rush to his face at all. In fact, he felt like a hundred-million yen, and as he noticed Gatomon in the crowd looking at him, he felt simply indestructible.

The next few minutes seemed to slow right down to a crawl. First, Veemon breathed out, and approached Gatomon. They were about eight feet apart. Veemon smiled as confidently as he could and then he began. "Gatomon! You look great!"

At this, Gatomon was sure she turned bright red. She rubbed her un-gloved paws together shyly and stared at her feet.

 _What the heck is wrong with me,_ she thought. She was at a loss for words, but did manage a rather quiet "thank you." Gatomon never got this nervous, not about anything. A feeling started to rise in her chest. Veemon continued, "I need to talk to you about something, and I want everyone to hear."

Davis noticed that things were moving along like he and Veemon had talked about all day, and started to point out to his friends what was going on while Veemon pulled in a breath. Everyone was just about surrounding Gatomon and Veemon now.

"Everyone!" Veemon announced, drawing the attention of the room. "Everyone listen up! I want you to hear what I'm about to ask Gatomon!"

The children and their Digimon began to take notice. It was around this time that Gatomon realized something was wrong. _W-What's going on?_ _A-Ask me what?_ She thought frantically, with about five hundred other thoughts racing through her pearly white, furry head. She looked to and fro as everyone she knew curiously gathered closer. It was quiet now. Gatomon felt herself get even hotter. _Everyone's looking at me._

"Gatomon!" Veemon said, still confident like before, still feeling like the world was his oyster. He flashed a smile that could win awards. Somehow, some way, he felt like he was in his element. Everyone stood, waiting, and watching. The tension could only be cut with a huge sword.

"Baby!" Veemon said with a weird inflection, like some kind of lady killer. He looked up quickly to Davis, who gave him a double thumbs up and a wink. Veemon continued, "I don't want no mon except you! You're all I think about, and you're a total knock out!"

Gatomon could have just melted into a puddle. It wasn't as if she could hear or see what was going on around her, except for the completely idiotic words of Veemon, but still. The extra attention, the situation she was in, and her feelings at that moment-it was all far too reminiscent of the past. Myotismon used to put her on the spot like that, back when she was still just Salamon, pointing out to the other Digimon under his service what a pathetic excuse for a Digimon she was. And yet Veemon just kept going.

"I want you to be my mon, Gatomon, my special mon! What do you say... 'babe'!?"

Several things all happened at once. Kari brought a hand to her mouth, in shock, and Davis just about exploded with excitement. T.K. looked pretty uneasy, as did Patamon who was fluttering next to him, before landing on his partner's shoulder so he could cover one eye with a wing. The others were just waiting to see what would happen next. Davis sprang forward, facing his own moment of truth.

"Also I want you to go out with me too, Kari!" he cried.

Kari facepalmed. Davis wore a goofy smile and was shaking all over, but everyone ignored his words and were looking at Veemon and Gatomon. Gatomon was staring at her feet, and now she too began to shake. Veemon began to feel a foreboding kind of feeling that made him uneasy.

"What… do I say…?" Gatomon looked ready to explode, and more in a physical sense than a metaphorical one. Veemon took a step back. Davis still smiled like the entire world was falling into place. Then it all just came out at once. Gatomon lost it, and shouted at Veemon as if attacking him.

" **I SAY YOU'RE A TOTAL IDIOT IF YOU THINK I'D EVER BE YOUR SPECIAL MON!"**

Veemon realized quite quickly how much he had screwed up. He didn't feel his heart crumbling right away, that would come later, but he did take another step back seeing how mad Gatomon was. Not just mad, but emotional in so many ways. Her eyes were wet, her ears and fur stood up towards the ceiling, and her trembling fists looked just about ready to pummel him. Veemon's lip began to quiver. He couldn't say a thing.

"Be your special mon!" Gatomon hissed, "I don't even want to be your friend right now! What is this supposed to be, anyways? With everyone here you're trying to humiliate me? And after everything that just happened?!" She would have burst into tears right then and there if she said another word. Instead she started to hyperventilate, and then looked around at the bewildered faces. She felt so small, so vulnerable. Gatomon bolted for the entrance.

If the tension could have been cut with a huge sword before, now it would take some kind of Digimon laser to cut through it. Veemon started to see stars, and the room started to spin. _What just happened?_ he thought. Agumon ran up to help stabilize him. "Smooth move, Veemon," he said.

Kari ran after Gatomon, as did T.K. with Patamon. The other Digimon and children were less understanding of the situation, not realizing what had transpired between Veemon and Gatomon before tonight. It seemed rather out there. Matt spoke up first.

"Well, that was awkward," he said, getting punched in the shoulder by Sora in response. Davis looked around in confusion.

"So was that a yes from Kari-oh wait, Veemon, did Gatomon say no just now?"


	6. Winter Blues

Sorry for the slow update! I have been busy with my personal life and college work. I think a better time frame between releases of chapters is three days, or let's say two per week. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 6 - Winter Blues**

Gatomon wasted no time in getting as far away as possible from the convention center, and any light source that could show how horrible she must have looked. She leapt high into the air as soon as she was out the door, finding a nearby high rise, and began to jump from building to building. She didn't want to stop, the emotions building up and exploding inside her compelling her forward like fuel.

"How could I be so stupid-so, so stupid-as to think Veemon, to think any mon could understand…!" The tears were streaming fast and hot down Gatomon's face. Her makeup was ruined, smeared all the way to her chin. She leapt a final time to a medium-sized apartment that sat along the water. Gatomon gracefully jumped and flipped through the air to land on the roof. She walked, almost aimlessly, and definitely defeated, to the edge of the roof. Gatomon simply let herself fall to her behind, and she completely let everything out at once, watching the moonlight and its reflection in the lightly tousled waves below. The snow didn't even bother her, or rather, she didn't even notice it.

"First Gaomon-I could live with that, I was over that-and now Veemon, with that stupid crap back at the party. I give just a little bit of myself to someone-and it's like I'm just an object or something!" Gatomon talked aloud, not caring even if there was someone around listening, "Nobody could understand, then…" Gatomon grabbed at her chest, desperately trying to feel her heart, so she could just squeeze it and get everything over with. She brought her paws up to her teary, smudged face, and very roughly started to wipe away the makeup. Gatomon then ripped the bow violently from her head, and did the same with her tail bow. They were tossed off the roof.

Gatomon couldn't help but see the darkness of her past before her as if it were real once more. Myotismon came up behind her and placed an icy cold, ghoulish hand on her shoulder.

" _Well well, Gatomon, it looks like in the end you were always destined to be mine."_ Myotismon's evil laughter resounded in her mind as if it was real, and it sent a sickening shock through her body. Gatomon felt her eyes grow as big as saucers.

"NO! Please, no more! Never again!"

Gatomon's cried and cried and cried. The evil aura of Myotismon, his spirit finally defeated a year ago, at that moment seemed as real as the December chill or the lightly falling snowflakes. But because she thought of Myotismon, she also thought of her old friend, Wizardmon. If there was one consolation in her horrible upbringing, it was that she had met one of the most kindest and friendliest Digimon there ever was. Were it not for Wizardmon, Gatomon might have done something drastic long before she met Kari and the others.

"Wizardmon…" Gatomon whined to the winter air. She looked up at the Moon. A shooting star zipped behind it. "What exactly am I supposed to do? What would you tell me if you were here still?" Gatomon said. She looked down to her legs, dangling over the edge of the building, and watched as each tear dripped from her eye and fell hundreds of feet below.

"I miss you," she said to her long-deleted friend. "You were… you were the only one right there with me. You knew everything…' Gatomon sniffled and rubbed her nose. She thought of Kari and Patamon, two excellent friends who she could talk to about a lot of things, but the one thing she never could say much about was her dark past. Kari was a shining beacon of light, and not just because of her Crest, but even that wasn't enough to help Gatomon, truthfully. And Patamon could never understand the kind of life a slave and servant to an evil being lived; his battles with darkness just weren't the same. And then Gatomon thought once again of Veemon.

"What the heck could he ever understand that isn't about courage, or eating food, or being stupid-or being really handsome…" Gatomon laughed at herself. "Look at you, Gatomon. Can't even stop yourself from feeling this way even after tonight. Just let it go…"

Gatomon heard her inner conscience, which hadn't been around since the morning after Dagomon's defeat, beginning to creep back.

" _Yeaaah! Screw that little blue creep! Come on, let's go and swipe some grub from whatever idiot left his balcony door open! Nobody will know..."_

Gatomon held her stomach, which growled, most likely not for the first time tonight, though she had been too distracted. She felt her tears subside a bit.

 _Would it be so bad? I'm not sure…_

" _Of course not! What, you didn't ever see yourself as one of those goodie-goodie Digimons, did you? Ha! That's funny!"_

At this, Gatomon looked at her paws. She wiggled each little padded digit, and flexed every muscle. She looked back up at the Moon.

"Maybe that is what I am, though. Something-or some mon-helped me defeat Dagomon, right? The DigiGods, perhaps; whoever they are-whoever they are, they never helped me one bit back when I was with Myotismon!" Gatomon's disposition changed from sadness to anger. She clenched her paws into fists, and bared her teeth at the bay.

"I'm not some hero!" Gatomon shouted, jumping to her feet, "What a joke that was, making me Warp Digivolve to Magnadramon! A cruel joke!" But Gatomon had changed since her old days, despite her mood then and there, and she began to sob again after hearing her own pessimism. After a few minutes of quiet crying, something or someone could be heard joining her on the roof from behind. Gatomon assumed it was a certain some mon, and reacted without turning around.

"Just get out of here, Veemon! I'm not going to listen to anything you say, you c-creep!" Gatomon said in a forced way, through her tears and sniffling. The figure behind her made a sound, like metal quickly coming into contact with something else. Gatomon instantly realized it was a sword being unsheathed, and she snapped around.

"No nonsense, please," said the figure before Gatomon, "I am only here to ask a question." She recognized the Digimon as an ally of BlackGatomon. It was Karatenmon.

 ***Back to Veemon***

Veemon had wandered off from the party, after Kari, T.K., and Patamon had come back with no Gatomon and no possible clue as to where she ran off to. Luckily Kari had brought Veemon's jacket, so without daring to look at Kari he had grabbed it with a rather weak "thank you." Veemon aimlessly meandered down a street, at the very least warm and snug, at least physically.

Inside, however, Veemon felt a deep chill. He was cold, despite the jacket, and he was sick. Sick to his stomach over how his relationship with Gatomon had soured. He just couldn't understand it at all.

"Why isn't anything going right?" he shouted, kicking an empty can out of his way. Veemon gritted his teeth. "Here I was, thinking that I knew what Gatomon wanted, and then I end up doing the exact opposite of what she wanted!"

Veemon grabbed his ears and pulled them hard, helping him scream harder, "WHY ARE GIRLS SO COMPLICATED!"

He sighed for a good few seconds. Veemon looked around and realized he was wandering towards the pier. It wasn't completely void of people, with couples dotted about, spending the evening somewhere where the beautiful glow of the Moon could be seen both lighting up the gentle waves, and also filling the sky with its light. Veemon shuffled over to the end of the pier, ignoring as much as he could the sounds of anyone laughing or generally having a good time. He rolled his eyes.

Moments passed, and eventually Veemon realized he wasn't completely alone-obviously there were other people about, but there was only one other loner like him. It was a young girl, sitting on top of the pier railing, with her legs dangling towards the water below. She had long black hair which was well hidden at night, and wore a light purple winter jacket with normal jeans. Veemon put a hand to his chin.

 _Hold on… don't I know this girl… the hair looks familiar…_

Not wanting to waste any more time thinking (because sometimes it hurt) Veemon decided to walk over and get a better look. When he was close enough, he jumped up on the railing besides the girl and tried to lean over and see her face. Before he could, she turned towards him and they both recognized each other.

"Ah! Carol!" Veemon cried, remembering her name because Davis had mentioned her a lot. Carol was a little surprised at first, then smiled. She spoke quietly and sweetly to Veemon, who had to strain to hear her.

"Hey, I remember you. Fancy seeing you here. Where's your partner?"

Veemon motioned behind him. "Back at the party," he said, not elaborating as he knew Carol was invited but simply didn't attend, "I left because, err, things didn't go so well." The blue dragon Digimon tapped his pointer fingers together and looked at his feet. He quickly looked up and added something, "Also, my partner's name is Davis, and he talks about you a lot, for some reason." Carol giggled, then inquired further.

"I see. So what happened? You ate everything and they kicked you out?"

Veemon blushed and waved his hand in her direction, "N-No, nothing silly like that. I wouldn't be so depressed about _that_." Carol giggled again. Veemon sat crosslegged on the railing and placed his hands in his lap.

"By the way," he asked, pouting a bit, "why didn't you come too? And why'd you come here instead?"

Carol looked down at the softly moving waters of Tokyo Bay, and smiled. "I just felt like being out tonight by myself. The moon is full, and Lalamon loved being by the water." Veemon replied with "I see."

Veemon felt a bit awkward, considering how Carol had lost Lalamon, and he wasn't the best at the whole 'consoling others' thing. But Carol seemed like a really nice girl-and being a girl, that meant she wasn't a guy, and so Veemon said, "Well, actually, I am here because I screwed up big time with a really important mon…"

Veemon proceeded to tell Carol about him and Gatomon, and what had happened at the party. He felt a lot of relief, finally getting to talk to a female about his relationship with Gatomon. Up until that point, he had only consulted Davis-and perhaps that was the problem. After the end of the tale, Carol looked up to the Moon. She responded to an exasperated and erratic Veemon.

"I think..." Carol began, hesitantly, "I think you should have considered her feelings before asking something like that in public."

Veemon's eyes widened and he threw out his hands. He shouted, "That's what Patamon was talking about! But I didn't have any time to think about it, and you know, I thought I _had_ been considering her feelings! I thought she wanted me to act cooler and more courageous, because being mushy and gushy didn't seem to be getting us anywhere!"

Carol said Patamon's name quietly, then turned back to Veemon. "Sorry to interrupt the discussion," she said, "but how is Patamon? I haven't seem him since 'that' day…" Carol's face turned grave. Veemon smiled.

"Oh," he exclaimed, "he seems to be doing great! I mean, considering what happened, I think he is going to be fine." Carol smiled back. Veemon noticed that she had very expressive, amber-colored eyes.

"Then that's good to hear! I'll have to see him soon. Back to you and Gatomon… I think you're missing something important, Veemon."

Veemon tilted his head. "Something important?" he questioned.

Carol continued, "Yes, something important to any relationship: communication."

Veemon beamed. He said, "But we talked all the time! About all sorts of things! That can't be it!"

The wind picked up and the chilly air flopped Veemon's ears around. Carol looked seriously at Veemon.

"Have you talked about your feelings? About hers? What about what you both want in a relationship?" Carol asked the questions and immediately Veemon raised a finger. He opened his mouth to respond, but then realized he couldn't answer. If he answered he could only say "no, not at all, in any way, shape, or form," and then he'd feel like a complete fool; well, more of one. Veemon slumped himself over and sighed.

"Not once," was his final, quiet response. But Carol smiled, and seemed pleased with herself.

"Then that's what you need to consider, and bring up with Gatomon. When Lalamon and I first became partners, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, and I imagine it was the same for your partner and you, and everyone who has a Digimon or a partner, and in any kind of special relationship."

Veemon shook his head. "Not true! Davis and I hit it off since minute one! He's my best friend, easily, and I think it's the same for him, too." Carol giggled.

"Right, so there are some exceptions. But usually, in any relationship, especially a romantic one, you need to find out what makes the other person, or Digimon, 'tick'."

Veemon looked up to the moon now. It was so full, so bright, and so beautiful. The huge whitish sphere reminded him of Gatomon. His mouth opened slightly.

 _What makes Gatomon tick… talking about feelings and what we want… communication..._

"Dang it!" he suddenly shouted, "Girls really are just way too complicated!" At this Carol laughed, from the belly. Veemon blushed, and scratched the back of his head.

"We sure are," the young girl said, amused. Some time passed as the two admired their surroundings and the enjoyable silence (they could block out the odd conversations or noises around them otherwise.) Eventually, Carol talked once more.

"You're lucky, Veemon."

Veemon had been thinking (but not too hard), and was brought back to reality. "I am? Why do you say that?"

Carol's smile and happy demeanor started to waver. The moon revealed a sad, lonely face to Veemon.

"Because Gatomon is still here for you to talk to, and to love, even if you have a fight now again. Not everyone has that opportunity, not anymore."

Veemon felt a pang of guilt in his gut. He wasn't the most thoughtful Digimon around (obviously, given the circumstances), but he did realize that he was talking about petty relationship drama to a girl who had recently lost her Digimon partner. He suddenly became very serious.

"Carol… I'm so sorry… for your loss. Truly." Veemon bowed the upper half of his body towards Carol. The girl before him had glassy eyes, but she smiled and lightly shook her head.

"No, it's okay. Don't worry about it. But I want you to promise me that you'll fix things with Gatomon, and work on your relationship. Don't give up because you made a mistake!"

Carol gave Veemon a thumbs up, and Veemon responded with two thumbs up, and a big goofy grin.

"Not a chance!" he exclaimed.


	7. Karatenmon Strikes

**(Long A/N)** Very sorry to anyone out there following the story! I haven't updated the story in over a week now. I had hit a stump, and furthermore was super busy (and still am) with college. Have no fear though! I figured out how I want the story to progress! But please be aware that, due to the serial nature of my stories, there can be snags such as this now and again as I figure out the best path for the story to take. The result compared to a story that is released all at once though is that you don't have to wait that long in between sequels; after "Hounds of Astamon", I should be able to continue into the sequel almost instantly! I already have a bit of that planned out.

Anyway, expect the next few chapters within no more than a few days apart. Christmas and New Year's may present another snag but it depends on my schedule. Once my semester ends near the middle of January, I should be fairly unburdened for awhile. You can expect even faster chapters by then.

 **Chapter 7 - Karatenmon Strikes**

 ***Some time ago***

"A question…?" Gatomon asked, confused and shaken still from the events of the Digidestined party as Karatenmon took a few steps closer. She wanted to take a few more steps backwards in response, but remembered she was at the edge of the building.

Karatenmon spoke, holding one of his swords in both claws and staring Gatomon in the eyes. She couldn't match the gaze.

"Was it you who destroyed BlackGatomon?"

Gatomon hated to have to think about _her_ again... BlackGatomon. That whole night had been like a nightmare, and it all happened so fast, but she could still recall the Digimon that could pass as her twin attacking and injuring Gatomon and her friends. She also remembered Veemon telling her it was he who ended BlackGatomon. Gatomon furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes at Karatenmon. There was no way she would tell him that. She readied her clawless paws in defense.

"I wish I had, but it wasn't me! I didn't even know she was destroyed! I had been trying to forget about all of that!"

Karatenmon made no movement nor did his face show he had registered what Gatomon had said. Instead he tightened his gaze on Gatomon. Both he and Gatomon fought over whose adamant stare was harder. Gatomon knew full well she would have no chance against Karatenmon; there was no way, just looking at him, that he was a Rookie level, and without her tail ring, or her claws, that was the extent of her power, or perhaps a bit stronger. He was a Champion… or stronger than that.

Suddenly Karatenmon broke the gaze and turned around. He sheathed his blade.

"Very well. I don't sense that you are lying. I know, then, that it must be one of the other two… your friends from that night. That works best, since I was asked not to destroy you, not that that would save you if you were the culprit."

The last sentence went over Gatomon's head as she felt as if a great lump had dropped down her throat. Something about this encounter felt very... scary. The Digimon before her was calm, and didn't seem quick to anger, but there was a latent power to his movements and disposition that made her intuition think he was dangerous, even if all of her friends and her were to fight him all at once...

Her intuition was rarely wrong. Gatomon caught her breath, and as Karatenmon flexed his great wings back to launch him up into the air, she moved forward to stop him. She shouted, "W-Wait! Do you think I'm just going to let you go and threaten my friends?!"

Gatomon grimaced. She threw herself up and towards Karatenmon, preparing a _Neko Kick_. It would be futile, but she had to try. Regardless of how much she wanted to pop Veemon's head off right now, she didn't ACTUALLY want to see another Digimon do it. And Veemon was way too hot-headed and honest… he would tell Karatenmon everything. And if Karatenmon found Patamon instead, after what her friend had been through, which BlackGatomon was quite involved with... she dreaded how he might react as well.

While flying through the air, Gatomon suddenly stopped. One moment she was watching her foe come closer and closer as her kick neared him, and then a split second later his face was right before hers. His great big talon clenched her underneath his grasp, which threatened to squeeze her into pulp. She struggled to find her breath, and realized he had, fast as lightning, grabbed her and stopped her in mid-air.

"Fool," he breathed. Karatenmon's eyes widened. He continued, "What foolishness, trying to fight an Ultimate-level in your state. Do you want to be deleted?" He tossed Gatomon backwards like she was a ball of paper. His throw didn't seem to be particularly violent, but she slammed hard into the concrete of the roof, losing her breath before she could regain it after being choked. She passed out briefly. Karatenmon made a disapproving 'tch' sound, then soared into the air.

Some time later, Gatomon awoke. At first she had to shake her head, and bringing a paw up to it she felt a headache come on. She groaned.

"Wha—" she began, and then realized the situation she was in. Her eyes exploded out of her skull and she flew into the air.

"VEEMON! PATAMON!" she cried.

 ***Present-time, back to Veemon***

The moon was starting to rise higher and higher into the night sky as Veemon and Carol parted ways. They waved goodbye, and then Carol disappeared down the street. Many of the couples were dissipating as well. Soon enough Veemon was alone on the pier. He hopped back up on the railing and sat, watching the waves roll.

 _I wonder what's going to happen now…_ he thought, thinking of his relationship with Gatomon. _I mean, even if I apologize for being a bonehead and try to just talk to her, will it be enough? Did I screw up way too hard to fix things? Can we even be friends?_

Veemon's face contorted into a sad expression. He sighed, as the sounds of the water gently slapping the pier below filled his floppy ears. With renewed conviction, however, he pumped a fist into the air and cried, "No! I still need to be confident! This time I have the advice of a girl… A GIRL! Just like Gatomon! This time I can't screw up!"

Veemon smiled wide. He said, "All I have to do is talk! That was the trick all along! And here I thought it was maybe that one thing I've heard Davis mention before, errr, se—" The sound of a winged creature's descent behind him cut Veemon off. Hard, sharp objects clinked against the stone pier. Veemon turned around, curiously.

"Answer my one question, Chosen Digimon," called the voice of the newly arrived figure. Veemon recognized the birdman Digimon, but it took him a moment to completely remember. Veemon jumped to his feet on the railing.

"Hey, you! I remember now!" Veemon cried, "You were there that night with that BlackGatomon! What do you want?"

There was a harsh breeze that ruffled feathers and blue dragon ears. The lights behind Karatenmon revealed him enough for Veemon to make out most features, but the blackness of Karatenmon's down still hid his face. It was only the piercing eyes of his potential adversary that Veemon could see clear as day… as deep a red as crimson blood.

"So you remember that night," Karatenmon said with a rising intensity, now drawing his swords, "And do you remember which of your friends destroyed BlackGatomon? Was it you?"

Veemon stared down Karatenmon and growled. He pulled back the sleeves of his jacket and held up a fist. "It was! She was hurting my friends, and I don't put up with that! I didn't plan on completely deleting her, but it's not like we were just playing pretend! And she started everything!" Karatenmon closed his eyes.

"I see," was his response. Veemon jumped off the railing and raised his other fist. He assumed a battle position.

"Yeah! So, what now?" Veemon chided, "you looking to avenge her? I don't feel bad for deleting an evil Digimon! We all learned a while ago that sometimes you have to destroy the bad guys or else they could do even worse to the ones you love!"

Karatenmon twitched. "Evil Digimon?" he said, lowering his head. He lowered his blades slightly as well. Veemon tilted his head in confusion.

Suddenly a rush of air blew towards Veemon, and on instinct he hopped to the side. A blade narrowly slashed right where his body had been a millisecond before. Veemon gasped, and a purple-black blur shouted beside him.

"Is that your pathetic excuse for your actions? That she was an 'evil' Digimon?!"

Veemon discovered the blur was Karatenmon, who had lunged forward to attack so quickly that Veemon had only barely got out of the way in time. He gulped.

"I won't patronize you for destroying an enemy who threatened you or your friends," Karatenmon continued, "but you must realize that the two sides in any conflict are neither good or bad. They are merely opposing sides, and your enemies have friends just like you do. I have come to avenge mine."

With that Veemon found himself hopping away once more, as another of Karatenmon's swift strikes whizzed by. And then another. They came in a flurry, and the attacks were almost like light waves shooting from the blades. Veemon felt like he ran a marathon every time he had to dodge. At one point Karatenmon slashed horizontally, which Veemon was sure caught the tops of his ears as he ducked, though the adrenaline flowing through his system at the time numbed the pain completely.

 _T-this is bad!_ Veemon thought, as he finally decided to run. He got up and booked it back towards the direction of the convention center. He heard Karatenmon take flight behind him in pursuit. Veemon was a quick runner, but not quick enough. He sensed one of the blades was about to skewer him, so he timed a jump onto a nearby shop sign and once again just barely avoided an attack. Karatenmon kept flying and his blade plunged deep into a building like the concrete was made of butter. Veemon's mouth dropped.

 _I'm dead! I gotta get out of here, I can't keep this up! If I could evolve, maybe I would have a chance…_ there wasn't much time to think as Veemon needed to get out of the way of another attack. Karatenmon was unrelenting. After a few minutes, Veemon's digital lungs were on fire, like being submerged in lava. He felt like he was in a sauna, despite the coldest Japanese winter taking place all around him. His heavy pants made him sound like he was a longtime smoker. Meanwhile, Karatenmon was completely fine, as if the battle hadn't even begun yet.

"Truly, this is no fair to you," Karatenmon conceded. He sheathed his blades and then cracked his knuckles. He made two fists with his talons. "I won't cut you to shreds, as reward for your ability to dodge my attacks at ⅓ power and speed. Any other Rookie would be mere specks of data at this point."

Karatenmon moved forward as Veemon keeled over to find his breath.

"Instead, I'll just pummel you until you're deleted."


	8. Weakling

Pardon me for taking so long to release this after saying last time that I would be uploading quicker! I will not say definitively that you won't be able to expect a chapter, for sure, more than once a week or so. Sorry... quite busy. I will try to release more frequently than that, though. Again, I will be less busy in the New Year. Expect quicker releases then.

 **Chapter 8 - Weakling**

Gatomon ran as fast as she could, back to the party, fighting back regretful tears.

 _If only I was stronger! And if I hadn't run from the party…_

The cat Digimon leapt from one apartment or large building to the next, then onto an overpass, and jumped clear over the highway and all the cars on it. She wasn't far, but she knew that she had been unconscious for long enough for Karatenmon to find Veemon or Patamon, wherever either was.

 _I know they both would have went out looking for me, I just hope everyone stuck together..._

Gatomon threw herself gracefully off of one more building and landed right in front of the convention center, and to some relief, she found Kari, T.K. and Patamon outside, looking worried and exhausted. Gatomon ignored the scrapes and bruises she had acquired from Karatenmon and her run back to the party, and sped on all fours towards her friends. Kari spotted her first, running forward to meet her partner halfway, and shouted.

"Gatomon! Thank goodness! Where wer—"

Gatomon cut her off, looking as worried as she had when Wizardmon was destroyed all those years ago.

"WHERE'S VEEMON?"

Gatomon's eyes were as wide as saucers, and her fur seemed to stand up. Patamon realized something was wrong as well, and his fur too began to rise. He knew Gatomon would never be this scared unless it meant something bad was happening. And lately, 'something bad' meant evil Digimon.

T.K., with Patamon on his shoulder, caught up to Kari and Gatomon, and he asked the question on everyone's mind.

"W-what happened, Gatomon?"

Gatomon relayed what she knew as fast as she could, knowing time was of the essence. They all continued to talk as they ran to search for Veemon.

"Davis, Tai and Agumon went to look for Veemon after he took off to go find you, that's what Izzy said," said Kari as she ran. Gatomon tried hard to keep herself from getting too far ahead, but she was so afraid for Veemon. Karatenmon had not found Patamon, which means he almost certainly went to look for Veemon after he confronted Gatomon. And Karatenmon seemed dangerously good at finding Digimon he was looking for.

"We went back to the party in order to see if you had returned," T.K. managed between strides, "when we found that the others had already left. Izzy stayed behind to let us know what was going on, then he left. None of us thought something like this might happen!" Patamon sat on T.K.'s shoulder, quiet and brooding.

 _Not again… these evil Digimon… why?_

Patamon gritted his teeth. T.K. noticed his partner's mood, but the dire nature of the situation didn't allow him to stop and confront the anger he could feel from his little pig Digimon. An anger that simply wasn't Patamon at all. T.K. thought.

 _It's not like I'm not upset about all of this, especially when I_ _ **knew**_ _something was going to happen. And I went through my own situation last year… the power of evil really got to me. But I won't let that happen with Patamon._

Unfortunately, all four of them were travelling in the wrong direction. The pier was behind them. Gatomon felt her chest rise and fall every half second, her heart thumping like a generator in overdrive.

 _What am I going to do… if… if…_

Gatomon quickened her pace.

 ***The Pier***

Breath in; pain. Breath out; more pain. Then breath in again, and feel even more pain. The cycle continued. Veemon could barely think about anything except how strong the pain was that consumed his midsection. He could barely keep himself up with one hand as the other clutched his pounding chest.

 _What do I do?_ He thought frantically, vaguely aware that Karatenmon was coming to finish him off. Veemon swerved his head and saw Karatenmon winding up for a vicious downwards punch, lifting himself off the ground with his wings. Veemon's eyes widened. He reached deep within his core and found the strength to jump out of the way, right before Karatenmon's monstrous attack broke through the concrete and cracked the pier all around it. Veemon's lower jaw fell even lower than when he had seen Gatomon earlier that night.

 _Gatomon… I hope this creep didn't find you first! If he laid a hair on your pretty head...! I'll find some way to deal with him-maybe Davis is looking for me!_

Veemon stood up painfully and chased his breath down, to no avail. Karatenmon stabbed Veemon with his gaze, and yet Veemon stood firm.

 _I need to keep dodging until Davis gets here, no matter what! Then I can Digivolve into ExVeemon, which should give me back enough power to at least hold my own. Right now, though, things look bad. Real bad._

Veemon was usually pretty hard headed, everyone and everymon knew that, but when it came to combat, he was probably the best out of the younger Digidestined children's partners, especially when it came to hand-to-hand combat. Pain coursed through Veemon's small body, but even as Karatenmon came forward for another strike, Veemon had a plan to dodge a few more attacks.

"Y-you're… pretty slow... for a Digimon who's gotta be... at least Ultimate level," managed Veemon, goading his enemy on. Karatenmon made a 'hmph' sound and continued unhindered. Veemon swallowed hard.

 _Okay, well, let's see if this gets him going then!_

Veemon held his arms out shakily, grimacing with the pain. He teased Karatenmon more.

"Alright, bird brain! I'm tired… of running! You get one… free hit!"

Veemon didn't expect his opponent to launch himself with his wings towards him, and Karatenmon was soon within a hair's reach. Veemon was still able to get out of the way, although this time he needed to crash face first into the concrete to his left. Immediately Veemon jumped up, his body screaming 'no', and turned around quickly to pounce through the legs of Karatenmon, who had rearranged himself to launch another of his downward punches. With a grunt, Karatenmon's hit connected with the hard ground and again the pier suffered another blow. This time, it was enough to break off chunks and damage the railing.

Veemon was now breathing so hard and so fast that it made him feel woozy. His entire body shook and he found each and every muscle movement as painful as getting hit by a car (which had happened on more than one occasion due to his brashness). And then the pain wasn't what scared Veemon anymore. What scared him was that he found he couldn't move anymore. Karatenmon composed himself and turned to face Veemon.

"You're out of energy, finally," said Karatenmon, with only a small hint of fatigue in his voice, "It's rather impressive you lasted this long. But as a Rookie, even an exceptional one, this is your limit." Veemon found himself in an odd state of equilibrium. There was no more pain, but he felt like a literal statue, unable to move, unable to speak, and he couldn't turn his head to see Karatenmon, who was walking over victoriously.

"I'll delete you with one punch. It's over."

Veemon could still grit his teeth, though it hurt. His body instinctively braced itself, causing more pain. Veemon's mind was racing.

 _Gotta run gotta run gotta dodge this is bad this is real bad real real real…_

Then every thought suddenly disappeared at once. Veemon found his entire being floating away, as if on a feather in the wind, and he noticed his vision was changing colors and shapes every half second. He saw lights, and more colors, and then nothing but black. Then grey, as he felt his body once more find some strength to arise, only to his hands and knees now. Veemon saw that his hands were flickering, like an old TV set unable to find a proper signal.

 _That just now… his attack?_

Veemon looked to his right and immediately became disoriented. He couldn't tell where he was anymore, only that there were lights and colors. Sounds were now distant echoes. It must have been Karatenmon speaking, more like shouting, but Veemon just heard gibberish. Then a screeching, sharp sound entered his mind, and Veemon's head dropped to the ground. He spat up digital blood.

Veemon couldn't think anymore. He faded in and out of consciousness before something picked him up. Another Digimon? Who?

PAIN. Pain entered his body from his stomach area. It traveled all around his small frame, and it was like a whole new world. It was like hell. He felt every pixel of his being try to escape, and they would have, if he didn't pull himself together metaphorically, and also, in a sense, literally. Reality came back to Veemon and he found himself looking clearly at Karatenmon, who finally showed genuine anger, and also shock. Veemon's body moved on its own.

The little blue Digimon, still flickering, threw himself up and launched a VeePunch at Karatenmon. The blow hit his cheek, but it didn't seem to do much. So Veemon launched another attack from his right fist, doing much the same amount of damage. Karatenmon grabbed Veemon by both talons and held him up at eye level. Veemon could no longer feel a thing, and had no control over his body, which seemed to squirm now.

"STOP THIS RESISTING!" Karatenmon commanded, looking ready to tear Veemon in half. Veemon might have obliged the request, if he could. His body kicked Karatenmon and it was able to dislodge itself from the Ultimate level's grasp. Veemon's body then flipped backwards and prepared a V-Headbutt. Karatenmon was too taken aback to respond before the Veemon body collided with Karatenmon's stomach region. This time Karatenmon felt more than a tickle. Still, it wasn't enough.

"This madness-first the cat," Karatenmon said quietly, his voice raising as he spoke, "now you… why do you keep GETTING UP AND FIGHTING?!" Karatenmon lost all patience now, flew over to Veemon, grabbed him tight against his chest, then soared up into the night sky. Veemon's body still struggled, while Veemon's mind truly feared for its life. Karatenmon then began to descend.

"I'M ENDING THIS CHARADE," he shouted, traveling towards the earth and releasing Veemon so that the dragon Digimon was shot out like a bullet, "JUST STAY DOWN IF YOU ARE TOO WEAK TO WIN!"

Karatenmon swerved upwards at the last second, but Veemon's body fell from the sky like a sack full of anvils. He crashed into the walkway in front of the pier, which was in shambles, and at the moment of impact the region around the pier and walkway seemed to explode, with rocks and dirt going everywhere. Dust floated about for a few moments as Karatenmon looked for a sign of life amidst the rubble.

Slowly, a standing figure was revealed in the middle of where Veemon had fallen. Once more dust settled, Karatenmon could see clearly a rapidly flickering Veemon, standing completely still. His face was vacant and his eyes were a hollow grey. Inside Veemon's head, though, his mind was racing once more.

 _How… am I… alive?_

Karatenmon was shaking. He pulled out one of his swords, screamed, and was about to cut Veemon in two before he stopped himself, blade just an inch away from Veemon.

"Y-you…" Karatenmon's eyes were burning with rage. He tightened his grip on his sword to the point where he couldn't feel his talons anymore. He spat words out at Veemon.

"You're a weakling. Somemon like you... I'm not going to finish you off, not yet."

Karatenmon sheathed his sword and began to walk away, leaving Veemon's zombie-like body standing there as some rubble was still settling around them. Karatenmon spoke a few more words before ascending into the night sky.

" _I want to fight you again, when you're actually a challenge. Deleting you now will not satisfy me."_

Karatenmon flew off, into the darkness. The walkway and pier area were in tatters. A few people began to appear to see what the commotion had been, but soldiers arriving on the scene held them back. Veemon continued to have no control over his body, but could see clear as day, despite how his eyes looked like black holes to those around him.

A short time later, Veemon saw Davis emerge from the crowd, avoiding the grasp of a soldier, and his partner's tearful eyes were the last things Veemon saw before a pitch blackness overtook him.

 _Davis…_

Then a brief flash of white, and two blue, shiny orbs appeared. Only for a moment.

 _Ga… Gatomon…_


	9. That Five Letter Word

**Chapter 9 - That Five Letter Word**

Veemon was inside a vast, monochrome nothingness. His mind seemed to wander in and out of a reality where only a void existed, with him floating about aimlessly. He could look at his hands, his feet, his body, and each would be in shades of grey. Finally, a light appeared in the distance, after what seemed to Veemon to be an eternity. He swam towards it as if the void was an ocean.

" _Veemon!"_

A childish voice called out, seemingly from all directions at once. " _Veemon, you must wake up now! Come to the light!"_ Veemon didn't need to be told twice. He was getting way too bored of his temporary home. As he neared the light, it began to make him feel warm, very warm. It was cozy. That childish voice spoke one last time as the light enveloped Veemon.

" _Don't be afraid, Veemon! We will keep watching over you and your friends until our power is no more… don't give up!"_

Suddenly, the light got brighter as it completely surrounded Veemon, and then it seemed to shoot him forward like a rocket into a new, white void. He flew and flew and flew until he disappeared entirely. Veemon was forced to close his eyes from the blinding light. Then he felt warmth again, and heard a soft, low breathing close to him. He smelled freshly washed laundry, and a perfume that reminded him of a gentle, fleeting breeze in the spring. His body was covered by heavy sheets, and a warm body was next to him. He opened his eyes slowly.

Then Veemon realized he was home. He was laying in Davis' bed, with the covers drawn over him. He felt his body oddly unresponsive, and found it hard to move his arms. He then noticed that the warm body sleeping peacefully next to him, curled into a cat-like ball, was Gatomon. She looked deep in sleep, so he did not attempt to wake her. Veemon smiled, though, seeing her there. A part of him had thought she would never want to see him again…

"Wait!" Veemon shouted. This caused Gatomon to leap up in surprise with a shriek. Veemon continued, "I remember what happened now!"

Gatomon gasped and quickly scooped Veemon into a tight hug. She cried, "Veemon! You're okay! You're awake!" The blue dragon felt his face grow hot, and he eventually, with great trouble, returned the hug with a smile. Veemon could feel Gatomon's rapid heartbeat, and his own.

"Yeah," Veemon said quietly, "I'm okay, somehow. I'm surprised. What… happened, Gatomon?"

Gatomon pulled back, eyes heavy with tears. Veemon thought she might cry at any moment, but then her disposition quickly changed to anger and she swiped him hard across the face with her non-clawed paw.

"Stupid Veemon!" she shouted, "you almost got deleted! Do you know how much I've worried the last three days? We didn't even know if you were going to wake up for sure! Idiot!"

Gatomon continued swiping Veemon across the face and calling him names, causing him to put his head back in response. He exclaimed calmly, "I'm dead after all… ahhh… here I go..."

Once a few dozen light-red marks were on Veemon's face, Gatomon came to her senses and shook the now-limp dragon. "Ah, Veemon! I'm sorry, I kind of lost it there! I was just so worried… you idiot!"

Veemon was fine though, and ended his charade with a laugh. Well, his face was a bit tender now, but he'd live. This made Gatomon smile and she punched his shoulder, to which he said "ow!" and began to rub it. Gatomon got up to her feet.

"I'll go get the others! They're waiting downstairs right now," she said, looking bright and happy. "We didn't think you'd wake up so soon! The doctor said you'd be out still for a week, at the least!" Veemon used a great deal of strength to move his arm and hold her in place.

"Wait, Gatomon!" Veemon said, more seriously then Gatomon had ever heard. This would have made her stop if his hand hadn't.

"Vee-mon?" she asked slowly, looking into determined red eyes. Usually this kind of stare was what he wore during battle.

"Gatomon," Veemon began, as Gatomon sat cross legged to Veemon's left on the bed, "I need to clear some things up about you and me, before everyone else comes in. You know— about our relationship."

The room grew silent then. Gatomon starred at some point on the bed to her left, and rubbed her upper arm. "Ah," was all she said, waiting for Veemon to continue. He swallowed and then did so.

"I'm sorry, Gatomon. For everything."

Gatomon didn't expect this. She found her head turning to stare at Veemon, and once again, like a few nights ago, their eyes met. This time both sets of eyes had a story to tell.

"I messed up, I acted like a jerk, and I didn't even ask you how you felt, or what you wanted," Veemon said, waving his hands expressively as he spoke. "I just, I just didn't want to lose what we had—or what I thought we had. So I acted without much thinking, like usua."

The blue, feline eyes started to glaze over. The draconic, red ones narrowed.

"And usually I don't think a lot, because I'm not a good thinker! Everyone and mon knows that! I'm pretty much a dumbie, I know that, and I'm okay with that! But when it comes to you—I think I know now—you're not someone simple like me, and I need to be more thoughtful. And, we need to talk more… communication…" Veemon said the last word almost to himself. He still wasn't so sure about what he was saying. Gatomon's face started to quiver as she fought back the urge to cry. The memories of her past… the memory of the night she and Veemon had had their first fight… and her memories of the night Karatenmon attacked… they all started to come back at once, a flood of images and emotions that got jammed in the door to her mind as they all attacked at once. Gatomon stopped her tears by leaping forward and hugging Veemon tightly. This hug was different than all the ones before. This time she hugged so tight Veemon actually felt a bit suffocated, and she shook lightly.

"You are… a dumbie…" Gatomon managed, sniffling. Veemon wrapped his hands around Gatomon and smiled.

"I wanted," Gatomon continued, "I just wanted us… to slow down. Something like... being together with a special mon… laying my heart out in the open… and everyone knowing… and judging—it's too much, Veemon. Right now… I couldn't bare it..."

Veemon chuckled. "Yeah, I have heard something similar to that from two others, it's finally starting to enter my thick skull. I understand, now."

Veemon placed his hands on Gatomon's shoulders and moved her back. She looked a little afraid.

 _Is he going to try to…?_

Gatomon moved her face ever so slightly to the side as if to prepare to deflect a kiss. Instead, Veemon caught her gaze and continued talking.

"Actually, to be honest, Gatomon, I don't understand you at all! Davis and I have always lived carefree, having fun and never thinking too much about anything! Even when it comes to evil Digimon or whatever, we just kick their butts and move on! I couldn't begin to understand you at all Gatomon! Not what you went through, not how you feel, or most of the time, even what you are thinking!"

Veemon's face looked very serious now, to the point where Gatomon felt like this was some kind of break-up speech.

 _B-but we aren't even together… that's right… why do I feel this way, then?_ Gatomon thought. She shook even more now.

"But!" Veemon smiled again. "Gatomon, I want to understand you! I want to hear about your past, and about how you feel, and what you think, and I want to know you inside and out! Just like I want you to know everything about me, although, there isn't a lot, I think, if I'm being honest."

Veemon finished with a laugh at his own expense, and he shot Gatomon one of his big, goofy grins. Gatomon's head dropped and her paws balled up into fists, like at the party. Veemon prepared for the worst.

"You… want to understand me?" Gatomon asked, in a way that made Veemon feel like he might get punched in the face at any moment.

He did not expect, however, what Gatomon did next. She brought her forehead right against Veemon's, and rubbed them together. She wore her own dumb grin on her face, and her eyes were wet, with a pink blush covering her cheeks. Veemon didn't know what to do, but he decided to rest his hands on Gatomon's hips. She brought her paws up to his chest, lightly spreading them around, and sitting in his lap she sat a hand's length away from his face, smiling.

"I'd love that," was all she said, before she curled up on Veemon's lap. She was purring. Veemon turned red and an even goofier smile made its way onto his face, wavy and love-stricken. He threw a fist in the air, in a way not to make it obvious to Gatomon, and he smiled triumphantly to the ceiling.

 _Finally, I did something right! Thanks Carol and Patamon, I won't let your help be wasted!_

Just then, Davis crashed into the room, with Patamon flying behind him. Both boys flew into the room, paying no heed to Gatomon, who was about to die from embarrassment. Neither Davis nor Patamon paid her much attention, and instead they tackled Veemon. Gatomon leapt out of the way before she became smothered.

"Veemonveemonveemonveemon…" droned Davis as he squeezed the life out of his partner. Patamon hugged Veemon's head. The poor dragon Digimon underneath gasped for air.

"I'm—I'm actually dying this time! Help!" he cried. Gatomon giggled. She then noticed Kari and T.K. had entered the room as well. Kari gave her a sly look that let her know she had seen what Gatomon had been doing before they all came in. Gatomon turned crimson and looked at her paws. All T.K. did was laugh at the doggypile on the bed.

"I was so worried!" Patamon exclaimed, now bouncing on a pillow, "I thought I'd lose another friend!" Davis loosened his hug and Veemon tried to reciprocate but couldn't from the weakness in his body.

From the doorway, T.K. and Kari spoke to one another quietly.

"So when should we all get together to talk to Izzy again? We all need to hear what Veemon has to say about what happened" T.K. asked, gravely. Kari smiled.

"We should let him rest a bit. Mrs. Motomiya is making a nice supper for all of us, after all, and we could stay the night, make it a celebration of sorts. Tomorrow we all have separate plans, but we can meet up in the evening with Izzy and everyone else to prepare our next move."

T.K. turned to Kari and looked worried. He said, "I don't know, Kari. Isn't it dangerous to wait? We need to decide what to do as soon as possible; Gatomon already said this raven Digimon is super strong, and we don't know when he could strike next! Even if Izzy said he has been monitoring the area for any suspicious digital movements with his computers, do we know that that is enough?"

Kari kept staring at the commotion on the bed. Veemon was being held down by Davis while Gatomon and Patamon tickled him. Kari laughed.

"Look at them, T.K. We can wait one more day. We have to. If we can't have moments like these, then evil has already won. Besides, one evil Digimon against all of us, no matter how scary and strong, isn't going to stand a chance. I'm worried, too, T.K., but I don't think right now that raven Digimon is the main threat we've both been sensing."

T.K. smiled now. He placed a hand on Kari's shoulder.

"You're right, Kari," his female companion blushed lightly as T.K. grinned at her and spoke, "I think one more day can't be that bad— plus, it does look like a lot of fun!" With that, T.K. ran over and jumped on the bed with the others, starting a new attack on Davis. The Digimon joined in, except for Veemon, who could only lay in recovery and laugh.


End file.
